As former Vikings and Cardinals head coach Dennis Green famously once said, they are who we thought they were.
Or, is it translates on this particular January morning, the Denver Broncos that were just bounced from the NFL postseason are the same Denver Broncos we thought they were as training camp came to a close this summer:
The Broncos are a team that lacks the overall talent required of a real contender.
We thought Bo Nix could be the answer at quarterback. He is.
We thought Sean Payton would be the right man for the job. He is.
We thought that a team carrying the weight of $53 million in “dead money” going to departed quarterback Russell Wilson had no chance of going toe-to-toe, man-for-man, with the NFL’s elite. Yesterday, against the Buffalo Bills, that held true in painfully obvious fashion.
Simply put, the Bills, who trounced the Broncos 31-7 in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs, had better players in more positions.
Study the stats, watch the “All-22” film, discuss and debate the shoulda-coulda-woulda of the Broncos first playoff game since 2016 all you’d like. In the end, the team with the most talent across the board won and won big. Payton coached his tail off, as evidenced by what should have been a 10-10 score heading into halftime. The moment wasn’t too big for the Broncos rookie quarterback, either. But the naked eye doesn’t lie, and as complicated as we like to make sports, breaking down Sunday’s beatdown wasn’t hard.
Talent wins and talent won.
Make no mistake, there’s no shame in being a Denver Bronco or a Broncos fan this morning. Hope fills the air; there’s a lot to look forward to. Most importantly, the question that’s hovered over the Broncos since Peyton Manning hung ‘em up has been answered. For the first time since training camp in 2015, the Broncos aren’t wondering who’s going to be their quarterback. Nix is it.
But whether Nix ultimately turns into a Hall of Famer or just a fully competent NFL starter, he’s not sniffing a Lombardi Trophy unless he’s playing alongside more playmakers. Nix isn’t Josh Allen – not yet and not by any stretch of the imagination – but a quarterback can only do so much. The running game behind him is incompetent at best. Collectively, his wide receivers are “okay” but nothing special. His tight ends are non-existent.
Buffalo running back James Cook gashed the Broncos for 120 yards and a touchdown. Denver’s leading rusher was Nix with 43 yards; after him Javonte Williams plodded for 28, insignificant yards on seven insignificant carries. In total, the Broncos backs only mustered 36 yards on the ground. Denver’s back “attack” was most aptly summarized by Jaleel McLaughlin’s final, pitiful touch, a 4th-quarter, 4th-down swing pass that saw McLaughlin ease out of bounds on the Buffalo 14-yard line, well behind the sticks as if the Broncos had all day to overcome their 28-7 deficit.
Courtland Sutton is a bona fide NFL wideout, a big receiver who can body-up defensive backs, make tough catches and move the chains. He is not a player who performs magic once the ball is in his hands, though. Sutton’s 75 yards on five catches were “fine” – a game-high output, in fact – but not enough. After Sutton, the Broncos receivers room drops off significantly.
Marvin Mims Jr. is Nix’s most explosive weapon, but he’s primarily a vertical threat. He’s got speed to pop the top off the defense, but his route-running leaves something to be desired. How else can one explain how or why the Broncos can only find their speediest wideout twice in the biggest game of the year?
The start of Troy Franklin’s first professional playoff game was not only great, but unusual. For the first time all season, Nix and Franklin actually connected on a deep ball, this time for a 43-yard touchdown strike. But after that, Franklin went back to being Franklin, failing to get open and dropping passes that would have moved the sticks when he was. The usually sure-handed Devaughn Vele had a key drop on third down, too, which unfortunately was the only “play” he was involved in all day.
At tight end, Buffalo’s Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox combined for five catches and 85 yards, a chain-moving average of 17 yards per completion. Meanwhile, Broncos tight ends combined for two targets, two catches and four yards. They might as well have stayed back to block.
No playmakers?
No plays.
That’s the bad news, the harsh reality of a fun season that came to a crash in Orchard Park yesterday.
The better news?
According to OverTheCap.com, the Broncos are projected to have roughly $48 million in cap space this offseason. Should that number hold true, it would be the 11th-most cap space in the NFL. In 2026, Wilson’s wasted salary comes off the books completely.
General manager George Paton and Payton (who has a major say in all Broncos transactions) have being playing at a disadvantage, a harsh truth that reared its ugly head on Sunday. Their shopping list is long – running back, tight end and wide receiver being at the top, of course – and soon they’ll be able to exit the bargain basement and peruse the same aisles as the rest of the league. Paton’s drafts have been, for the most part, successful. When paired with the ability to bring in competent free agents, the Broncos outlook becomes brighter than it was in hazy upstate New York.
Finding Nix and making the playoffs makes the 2024 season a huge success. Finding the players who can help him win will define 2025.
In the NFL, playmakers are required. Yesterday in Buffalo, the Broncos didn’t have any.
